Night latch



May l0, 1960 A. H. GOLDEN NIGHT LATCH Filed Sept. 30. 1957.

INV ENTOR.

y l k ...f L.' IPL' United States Patent C) i NIGHT LATCH Abraham H. Golden, Stamford, Conn., assigner to The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, Stamford,

v Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 30, 1957, Serial No.'687,276 z Claims. (C1. 7er-93) or frame by connection to the latch bolt keeper, for ex' ample, while the other end is provided with a catch having differently shaped end portions, both ends being adapted to be releasablyrmounted in a slot formedA in the Ylatch casing. When one end of the catch is in' the slot, itis releasable by retraction of the bolt through rotation ,of a key plug from outside the door. On the other hand,Y when the opposite end ofthe catch is in the slot, retraction of the bolt does not release vthe catch so that the safety chainsecures the door against opening beyond a predetermined limit.

While the construction in the above-mentioned Segal patent has commercial merit, it does embody a particular disadvantage in '-that the diiferent ends Vof the'ca'tch may be easily confused, and upon occasion, authorized persons will be unable to gain entrance upon "actuation of the exterior key plug., Then too, failure to seat; the properY end of the catchmay render the safety chain ineffective against unauthorized persons. 1

I have conceived by my invention, a novel construction that enables me to provide the advantages ofnla combined nightjlatch and safety guard chainwhile eliminating the foregoing confusion and resultant disadvantages.

In essence, a feature of my invention resides in the utilization of a night latch casing having a-plurality of retaining means for the safety chain catch, only one of A which retaining means supports the catch in a position to be released as a result of retraction of the latch bolt.

More particularly, I contribute by my present concept, a latch casing formed with two slots or holding means for releasably retaining the catch, and means movable incidentally to retraction of the latch bolt for engaging the catch and moving it out of one of the slots. p

Thus, by providing two separate retaining means, each of which may be associated with suitable indicia to indicate its function, if desired, I have eliminated the need for a catch having differently shaped end portions. In lieu of such a catch, I employ a catch that is supportable at only one of its ends, or, that has similarly shaped ends for support at either end, it being a matter of no consequence which end is used.

I have thus outlined rather broadly the more important features of my invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that my contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of my invention that will be described hereinafter t and bottom walls 12 and 14, and end walls 15 and 16.

2,935,864 Patented May 10, 1960 be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carryingV out the several purposes of my invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention, in order to prevent the appropriation of my -invention by those skilled in the art.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational view of the night latch illustrating my present invention;

Fig.12 is a fragmentary plan view partly in section i1lustrating the device of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the safety chain catch retained in one position on the latch casing; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the catch retained in a second position on the casing.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, there is shown a generally conventional latch casing 10=having afront wall.11, horizontal'top As shown in Fig. 2, thecasing is closed by a cover plate 17 suitably secured as by a screw 19 to an upstanding boss 20 integral with the front platel 11. One of the endl walls 15 is provided with the usual latch openingv Z1= through which a latch bolt 22 is tional manner by a spring 35.

AThe casing 10 is conveniently mounted on ajdoor v24 projected in a convenadjacent its edge, by screws 25, for example, and 'a keeper 26 is secured to the `door jamb or frame ZIso.

the casing 10 when the` door is r1, the front plate 11 and has a shaft extending intothe.

casing and connected to a cam.32, the surface ,-33 of whichis disposed adjacent the lug\30.`As is common in the arta second cam (not shown) is operable by "a flattshaft 31a extending through the rear cover plate 1 7,'

and rotated by a key plug 34 mounted in the door 24 and accessible from the side of the door opposite the latch casing. Those persons skilled in the art will understand that the construction I have thus far described is rather conventional, and that it will operate in a usual way, with the rotation of either the knob 31 or the key plug 34 effecting retraction of the latch bolt 22 against the resistance of spring 35.

To utilize the exceedingly novel concept of my invenv Vtion, I prefer to form the front plate 11 with an outwardly offset portion 36 which is, in turn, provided with a pair of horizontal parallel slots 37 and 39, the remote vedges of which merge with diverging edges 40 and 41 ofthe offset portion 36. I then form front plate 11 with a pair of relatively short recesses 37a and 39a which register with slots 37 and 39, respectively, to eifectively extend the length of these slots beyond the juncture of the remote edges of the slots with the diverging edges 40 and 41.

A safety guard chain 42 is conveniently secured at one end to the keeper 26 and has acatch 44 fixed to its free end. This catch 44 has an annual groove 45 adjacent one of its ends, and is further provided with an axially projecting boss 46.

In accordance with my novel concept, I provide a pin 47 ou the latch bolt 22. This pin is so located as to extend laterally of the bolt adjacent the outer end of but one of the slots 37 and 39. As shown, I have chosen to illustrate the pin as extended adjacent the lower slot 39. .i

In the operation. of my present invention, the groove 45T` of the pin 44 may be placed in sliding engagement with either* of the slots 37. or 39, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4,. respectively. If the catch is mounted in the slot 39, retraction of the bolt by operation of the key plug 34, for example, will bring the pin l47 into contact with the vboss 46 on the catch 44, and will move the catch to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, until it is released from the slot and allowed to fall free by reason ofi the inclination of the edge 41. On the other hand, if the catch is mounted in the slot 37, retraction of the bolt by operation of the key plug 34 Willi have no effectv on the Catch so that the safety guard'chain will limit the degree to which the door may be opened.

- It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that while I have chosen to illustrate a pair of slots 37y and 39 as my retaining means, my concept is not limited to any specific formy of retaining means. Indeed, the retaining means may bev situated in any desired location and various means may be provided for releasing the catch from one of the retaining means incidental to retraction of the bolt.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have contributed a novel construction providing the advantages of a combined night latch and safety guard chain. while eliminating the disadvantages inherent in previous constructions. It will further be seen that by providing a casing having two separate retaining means,

I have eliminated thepossibility of'confusion as to which Y 1. In a latch of the class described, a casing adaptedy to be mounted on a door, a bolt mounted on said casing for movement between locking and unlocking positions, a safety'chain adapted to be attached to a door frame and equipped with a catch for securing said chain, one end portion on said catch having a particular shape, a slot` on one part of the latch casing adapted to coact with said` one end portion on the catch and releasably holding the catch when said end portion of the catch is applied thereto, a second slot on another part of said casing adapted to coact with said one end portion of the catch to hold the catch in a different relation to said casing than does the irst slot, said second slot so coextending with the first slot as to hold the `catch in substantially the same relation to the door frame as does the irst slot, portions of said casing formed to admit said end portion of the catch to either slot when the door is closed and the bolt is in locking position, a part on said bolt moving in aligned relation to. said' second slot incidental to a movement of said bolt toward unlocking position, and a surface on said portion of the catch with which said part on the bolt coacts when said catch is held by said second slot whereby to move the catch out of that slot.

2. In a latch of the class described, a casing adapted to be mounted on a door, a bolt mounted on said casing for movement between locking and unlocking positions, a safety chain adapted to be attached to the door frame and equipped with acatch for securing said chain, one end portion on said catch having a particular shape, a part of the latch casing forming a slot shaped to c0- act with said one end portion on the catch and releasably lholding the catch when said end portion of the catch yis applied to said slot, said catch then securing the chain in position to allow a predetermined opening movement of the door, another part of said casing forming a second slot shaped to coact with said one end portion of the catch to hold the catch in a different relation to said casing than does the first slot, said catch when so held by the second slot securing the chain in position to allow a predetermined opening movement of the door, portions of said casing formed to admit said end portion of the catch to either slot when the door is closed and the bolt is in locking position, a part on said bolt moving relatively to said second slot as said bolt moves toward unlocking position, and a surface on said portion of the catch with which said part on the bolt coacts when said catch is held by said second slot whereby to move the catch out of that slot.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,924,627 Segal Aug. 29, 1933 2,113,104 Beaumont Apr. 5, 1938 2,724,257 Segal Nov. 22, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 447,529 Great Britain May 20, 1936 

